On-board
by StanaKaticGB
Summary: Based following on from events in 8x07 and possible events in 8x08. Kate became pregnant after their night in 8x07 and didn't know. while on-board solving the case in 8x08 she becomes ill and thinks its seasickness when in fact its morning sickness!
1. Chapter 1

A murder on a boat, well this was unexpected! Beckett stepped out of her car and stopped still as she saw him, Castle was standing at the edge of the harbour, staring out at the sea. It had been two and a half weeks since they had met up for that "time in" and had not seen him since. She nervously approached, realising just how awkward this encounter may be. After all she was still not ready to resume their relationship, the possible danger to him was too much weight for her to bare. She just had to solve LOKSAT, and the sooner the better.

"Hi" she said as he turned around

"Hi" he replied, his smile melting her on the inside. Wow, this was definitely going to be harder than she had originally thought.

"So you here, interesting case". This was going badly, like talking to your crush for the first time. What the hell had happened to her?

"Looks like. This has gotta be a new one. Never had one on a cruise before"

"No, this is certainly new." There was an awkward pause "about the other week, I don't want this to be, you know, weird. Between us".

"Don't worry, nothing weird here, that was just a 'time out from the time out', remember, it's all good!"

Just as Kate was about to reply, Esposito an Ryan came up behind

"Hi guys, this is crazy huh, who would want to murder someone on a cruise? I thought cruises were supposed to be relaxing" joked Esposito.

"Well clearly this one is anything but", remarked Beckett, who was glad to see that the relationship between the two boys had healed, "now, let's get on board and start doing our jobs"

The boys looked at each other with the sudden change in tone, then followed her as they walked onto the ship.

It had taken longer than expected to collect the evidence. After all this was a big cruise, and every room had to be checked as well as all the guests interviewed. Beckett and Castle had made their way onto the top deck, looking for any indication of a possible struggle. Castle laughed as he looked at the front of the ship.

"Reminds me of Titanic, always loved that film". He practically sprinted towards the railings and launched himself up, spreading his arms like wings. "I have always wanted to do this!"

"Well I not jumping in after you if you fall, that's all I'm saying!" He jumped down and turned round and smiled as he saw her face, with those big brown eyes, smiling back. Then her face changed, with a look of confusion.

"What is it, what's wrong?"

"Are we…..are we moving?"

Castle spun round so see the New York skyline, with the newly built iconic twin towers, slowly getting smaller. "Uh yeh I think we are, I think your crime scenes trying to make a run for it!"

Beckett span round and ran inside. Why were they moving? It made no sense. As she reached the top of the stairs a thought suddenly struck her. Currently this murder was within the NYPD jurisdiction, but it wouldn't be forever, not unless they stopped the cruise from moving. She headed towards the bridge of the ship, where she expected the captain might be. She knocked on the door and announced herself, "NYPD, this is Captain Beckett, I need you to stop the ship until we have finished our investigation and collected all our evidence,"

The door opened and the Captain stood there. "Hello Captain Beckett, come in."

Beckett stepped inside to see four crew members working away at the controls. "I am sorry Captain Becket but I am unable to stop. These people paid for cruise and I have been instructed to carry on to the next destination. You can carry out your investigation, but I can't stop. If you haven't investigated it by the time we exit your jurisdiction you will have to leave it for the Washington Police department as that is our next stop.

"But why, we possibly have a murderer on-board and you are going to sail away. We have to finish this investigation otherwise you are putting everyone's lives at risk".

"Well I am sorry Captain but I have my orders, you are just going to have to investigate this fast, I would give it about you about an hour"

Beckett was going to object further, but realised that if this was the case, it was only giving her less time in order to solve the murder. She made her way back downstairs and found the team talking to castle.

"So what's happening Beckett" asked Ryan, who shared the same confused look as everyone standing around him

"Well it turns out that they are continuing to the next stop in Washington, they estimate we have about 60 minutes before we leave the waters of New York and our jurisdiction ends."

"That is crazy, ridiculous. There could be a murderer on board" shouted Castle

"It may be all of those things but right now we just need to focus our efforts on solving to murder before we miss our chance". As they turned to go back to work Beckett felt an overwhelming feeling of nausea as she launched for the bin to her right and threw up that morning's breakfast. Castle was by her side in an instant and although she knew that they were apart at that moment his presence felt comforting.

"Woah, are you ok"

"Um I think so" answered Beckett as she wiped her mouth with a tissue she had found in her pocket. "I don't know what came over me, I have never been seasick before".

"Well there is a first time for everything, now do you want to it down while I get you some water, you still look a little pale".

"I am fine thanks castle, I will get some water but I really need to get back to the investigation, we have less than an hour to go and I need to do this."

There was now only 40 minutes remaining and everyone was trying desperately to put together the pieces before it was too late. Beckett still wasn't feeling well and that bothered her. Not just because she was in the middle of a stressful investigation with tight time restraints, but because Beckett new herself. She knew that when it came to being on the water she was fine. She had used to go out on a boat with her dad when she was younger. She had gained her sea legs early. No, this was different, and this bugged her. In the end Beckett put it down to the current situation. After all with everything else going on as well as this case, maybe her body was just telling her she was too stressed, and to that she had to agree. Another spa trip was definitely needed, this time maybe without an agenda, just her and Lanie on a girl's day out. Just as she was picturing the bliss it was interrupted by Esposito who ran into the cabin room they had made into a make shift precinct while on-board.

"We found what could be the original crime scene"

They made their way out onto a private deck, for one of the more expensive rooms on the cruise, to find 2 men from CSU taking pictures.

"The railings here have spots of blood on, some has been cleaned of but they missed this on the underside, we are just testing it now to see if it matches the victims"

Beckett was about to congratulate them on the good work when another wave of nausea hit her. She ran through the bedroom and just made it to the en-suite in time. She sat there for some time, her head resting against the cold porcelain and wondered. This was sea sickness. The boat was hardly rocking through the calm waters. The only explanation she could think of was that I must be something she had eaten.

Behind her Castle knocked on the door. "Kate", he whispered, "are you okay, you really don't seem well".

"I don't know, I think it could have been the take-out last night, had a busy evening and no time to cook."

"The boys have this whole thing under control, seriously though, maybe you should rest, or stay here, just until we dock".

The caring side to Castle was one of the reasons she loved him so much. He never failed to notice the little things, well apart from LOKSAT, though she was glad of that. Outside the bathroom there was activity "What's going on" asked Beckett"

Castle peered round the bathroom door, then stepped out. He returned two minutes later. "They have a fingerprint smudged into the blood, probably left when the killer tried to clean up the blood. They are taking a picture and sending it to the lab as we speak. They are going to process it as fast as you can. You just sit there and look pretty. Beckett glanced up half glaring half smiling. She appreciated the humour and knew that he was just trying to keep her mind of the frustration he knew she must be feeling, after all being this ill during a murder investigation is not what anyone needs and she couldn't help feeling useless.

After the fingerprint had been found the rest followed quickly. The fingerprint had belonged to one of the crew members, who had been in an intimate relationship with the victim, a dancer on-board the ship. When she called off the relationship he felt so angry that he pushed her against the railings, where she cracked her head open. He then pushed her overboard, hoping they would have set off before the body was discovered. He had then faked communication with the bosses in charge of the cruise, informing the captain that they had to move on, for the body had not been found on-board. Once the crew member had been arrested the Captain was instructed to return to New York, where squad cars were already waiting to take the crew member in for interrogation. Beckett had never been so thankful to reach dry land. Whatever this was, she hoped that the lack of motion would give her body chance to settle. As she stepped of and walked over to her car her phone started to buzz "Castle is it alright if I take this?" she said as she turned around and pointed at her phone

"Yeah go ahead, I will just wait here"

Beckett wondered over to the spot where castle had been standing earlier and answered the phone. It was Vikram.

"Hi Vikram, any news?"

"No not yet, I just called to see if everything went alright, everyone here is talking about the case and the runaway crime scene"

"Well apart from food poisoning crossed with seasickness I think it all went smoothly"

"Food poisoning, when did you get that?"

"I think it must have been the take-out from last night"

"But we shared take-out while looking aver the evidence of the drugs from the evidence store and I'm fine. Are you sure it was food poisoning?"

"I don't know, that was all I could think of, it wasn't that rough and I never get seasick but maybe it's just one of those things".

"Well I guess you probably want to get home, see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah sure" she answered "see you tomorrow". Beckett the turned around and smiled as she saw castle leaning up against her car. "Sorry about that, people at the precinct just wanted to know how it went. I let them know all was good. Look I wanted to stop by the morgue and check in with Lanie. I could drop you off on the way if you want.

"Yeah thanks that would be nice, haven't ridden in this in a while, kind of miss it"! He laughed as he got in.

20 minutes later Kate was sat on top an autopsy table while Lanie finished sorting out some paperwork. "So a bit of a crazy day for you, first you get taken for a ride with your crime scene and then you decide it would be fun be get ill too, seriously girl what am I going to do with you"?

"I don't know, today was strange. I don't know what came over me. I have never been like that before,"

"And how do you feel now. Do you feel nauseous now?"

"No, now I feel fine"

"Huh"

"What is it Lanie" asked Beckett as she looked at Lanie.

"Well it's just that, well you and castle were together for your anniversary right?"

"Well the day after, yeh, but why would that matter?"

"Well is it possible that…well that"

"Lanie just spit it out, what?"

"Well did Castle use protection?"

"Yes of course, you can't seriously think that I'm pregnant!"

"Well condoms are only 98% effective, unless, were you using birth control?"

"Well I was but lately, well with everything between me and Castle, I forgot but I didn't think it mattered, after all we weren't together until then."

"You need to take a test, just to be sure. You need to know"

So there she was, in front of the mirror of her hotel room, just staring at her reflection. This couldn't possibly be positive could it? Seriously what were the odds, although she knew the odds? 2 in 100. 1 minute left, then she could look, if she could bare to. This should be a good thing. Without LOKSAT this should have been happening. But they should be waiting together. Excited about the possibility. All Beckett could feel was dread. Panic. She was mentally counting down 10, 9, 8…. Forcing herself to go when it got down to 1. 4, 3, 2…. She glanced down as the overwhelming feeling of fear, that had been buried beneath denial, rose up. In front her eyes she saw the reality: PREGNANT.


	2. Chapter 2

Slumped against the side of her bed, staring out of the window, Beckett was caught up in a whirlwind of emotions. The thought of having to deal with this, a baby, at that moment felt impossible. How could she possibly turn up at work tomorrow as if everything was normal? And Vikram. He told her it wasn't a god idea. Kate at that moment realised something even more painful. Keeping her distance from Castle was hard, even heart-breaking. But she did it to protect him. Separating herself from her unborn child she was carrying. Impossible. No mother would put their child in danger. What would people think of her if they knew? What would Castle think? Just the thought of castle made her tense up. When should she tell him? When would be the right time? If she did it now, LOKSAT would have to be left. But wouldn't it anyway. Kate couldn't just ignore this pregnancy and pretend that it wasn't happening. Who was she even supposed to talk to? Lanie didn't know, no-one else knew, only Vikram and…..Rita. She pulled out her phone and dialled a number she thought she would never have to.

Waiting inside the coffee shop staring down at her coffee cup still containing most of her decaf coffee she heard footsteps and looked up to see the familiar face of Castle's step mother. It had been around 2 months since they had last seen each other and realised this was not going to be an easy meeting. She knew in her heart it should be castle who she was telling first. And if this was in an alternative universe, where LOKSAT didn't exist, then telling him and witnessing the elation he felt would be like a dream. But not now. Now she needed some form of guidance.

"I wasn't expecting to get a call from you, I can't imagine you have solved it this quickly. Only reason I assume that you are calling is because you need help. Is it castle?" The concern in Rita's voice was apparent. She may not be Castle's birth mother, but Kate knew that she still cared about him.

"No, Castle is fine. Look I called because I need help, or more like advice".

"You needed advice and I was the only person you could turn to". There was slight judgement in her voice and Kate understood why. She had a husband who would do almost anything for her, and friends who have always looked out for her, yet she was turning to a woman she had known for all of two days.

"I couldn't talk to anyone else, I thought you might understand".

"Understand what, what is it I'm here for?"

"I…..I am pregnant". Just saying the words aloud made her feel panicked.

"Well congratulations. So did you finally decide to put everything behind you and go back to Castle, why are you turning to me for help?"

"No we just saw each other, it was our wedding anniversary and well…..it just happened. But now, now I can't continue. It's not just him I have to protect any-more. And what do I tell Castle".

"So Castle, doesn't know? But yeh your right. This thing with LOKSAT is out the window now. You can't go running head first into danger. Now you have to do what you should have done before, you have to let me handle this. And you have to tell Castle. Everything".

"What about his safety?"

"If you leave this alone that should no longer be a problem, but you have to explain to him why you left. You need to be honest, it's the least he deserves".

"No, you're right, I just don't know how".

"I think you just tell him. If he loves you as much as I know he does, he will understand. It might take time but he will understand". With that, Rita got up and left, leaving Kate to sit alone. Now for the hard part.


End file.
